Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Alderley Edge leasehold conveyancing

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Alderley Edge. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Alderley Edge who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Alderley Edge conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Alderley Edge. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Alderley Edge where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Alderley Edge conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Alderley Edge conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Alderley Edge conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Alderley Edge conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Alderley Edge who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Alderley Edge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Alderley Edge leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Alderley Edge conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Alderley Edge - Examples of Queries before buying

      Who are the managing agents? It would be prudent to enquire if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Alderley Edge leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Alderley Edge. If you like the propertyin Alderley Edge but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard decision. This question is helpful as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure

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    Lease Extensions in Alderley Edge